Paper doll or the like



March 1943- Q. HOLDEN 2,315,056

' PAPER DQLL OR THE LIKE Filed 001;. 9, 1942 iNvENTdR QUEEN H0405 ATTORN S.

Patented Mar. 30, 1943 I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PAPER DOLL OR THE LIKE.

Queen. Holden, Forestgllills, N. Y., assignor to Western Printing at Lithographing Company,

Racine, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application October .9, 1942, Serial No. 461,430

17 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in pape dolls or the like.

It is the primary object of the invention to pro; vide novel and improved means for establishing in a planiform figure an illusion of movement. In a person or animal this may involve the opening and closing of a bodily orifice such as the eyes or mouth. For purposes of exemplifying the inven: tion I have illustrated a paper doll with means for apparently opening and closing its eyes.

More specifically stated, it is an object ofthe invention to provide an otherwise planiform figure with the semblance of an opening at which a planj iform fiap is pivoted to expose one or the other of its faces, the respective faces of the flap being so decorated as to create a different effect on the figure when the flap is in one. position from the efiect created when the flap is in its other extreme position. I

It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel and improved mechanical structure providing for the pivoting of the flap whose movement creates the illusion or effect desired.

A further object of the invention has to do with novel and improved means for constructing the flap to enable both of its faces to be printed in one operation.

Other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon analysis of the following disclosures of the invention.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation of a paper doll comprising a. figure embodying this invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary detail view of the head of the doll, showing the' appearance of the doll with the pivoted fiap adjusted to give the effect of closed eyes. J

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail view in rear elevation of the head portion of thefigure. showing the flap as it appears when the eyes are open as shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail view of the blank from which the flap is formed.

Fig. 5 is a view taken in vertical section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3. N

Fig. 6 is a detail view taken in horizontal section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 3.

Like parts are identified by the same reference characters throughout the several views.

While the invention may be applied to figures of any desired shape, material, or other characteristics, it may be well exemplified byreference to the paper doll shown in the drawing. The diiiiculties of creating the illusion of opening and closing eyes in a paper doll are obvious and have particular exemplification a single tab serves both eye openings.)

The tab may conveniently be made by taking paper or the like, approximately half of the weight of that used to make the figure l, decorating its face as shown in Fig. 4, and

: thereafter folding and gluing it upon itself so that the two decorated faces are outermost. A clearly appears from Fig. 4, the opposing margins of the blank which comprises tab III are provided with arcuately segmental projections II and I2 which T register with each other when the blank is folded and glued. Each of these segmental extensions terminates adjacent the margin of the blank in a generally radial line such as to form notches at I3 between the segmental extension and the blank proper. The extensions I I are decorated to represent the open eye, while the extensions I2 are decorated to represent the closed eyelid. When the blank is folded to constitute the tab If], such tab will have on its upper face the reproduction of two eyelids and on its lower face the representation of two open eyes.

The distance between the notches I3 at each side of the registering extensions II, I2 of the tab, will preferably correspond almost exactly to the width of the apertures 9 representing the eye sockets so that it is necessary to flex the registering extensions I I, I2, of the tab to manipulate them through the eye sockets. Once in place, as shown in Fig. 6, the engagement of the notches I3 against the margins of the blank 1 at the sides of the sockets 9 will permit the tab to be moved pivotally between the positions shown in full and dotted lines in Fig. 5. When the portion of the tab which is behind the figure I is raised to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 5, the top surface extensions l2 will be exposed at the front of the figure to create the illusion of lowered lids. When the tab I is in its full line position illustrated in Fig. 5, the lowersurfaces carrying extensions II will be exposed at the front of the figure to create the illusion of raised lids or open eyes as shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 6 shows the tab ID in an intermediate position in Order to illustrate how the hinged mounting thereof on the figure 1' is achieved. Fig. 3,

like Fig, 1 and Fig. 5, illustrates the tab in its lower or open eye position.

While the figure in general is entirely planiform, it will of course be understood that the portion of the image which is carried by the tab need not be exactly in the plane of the rest of the figure but at a slight angle thereto, as clearly shown inQFig. 5. In any event, that portion of the image carried by the movable tab co-operates with that portion of the image carried by the plane of the figure and to the extent that itmoves through an arc pwardly from the face of the rest of the figure, the tabcreates are-- 4 markably realistic illusion.

I claim:

1. A paper doll or the like comprisinga mount i ing member and a tab pivoted upon the mountlng member for movement with respectthereto" between extreme positions in which opposite faces, of the tab are exposed to view, the mounting member'andthe tab together providing an image wherein the opposite faces of the tab illustrate image portions in different positions.

2. A device of the character described, com prising the combination with a mounting member portraying a figure having a bodily opening and a tab pivoted to the mounting memberat the representation of. such openingto swing outwardly from the face of said member in moving between extreme positions in which opposite, faces of the tab are exposed in proximity to said member, the opposite tab faces being decorated to show in difierent positions the bodily feature normally appearing at said opening, whereby such feature appears to change'its position as the tab is swung from ne such position to the other upon its pivotal connection with the" member e f n 3. In "a device 'of the characterdescribedfihd combination with a mounting member portray ing a figurehaving an eye socket portion, of 'atab pivotally mounted on said member at said ey'e socket portion and provided with means ber; hind said member for the manipulation of said tab upon its pivotal connection with said mem ber, said tab including a forwardly exposed portion movable outwardly of said member between extreme positions in which said last mentioned portions expose opposite faces in immediate proximity to said member, the said opposite faces of the last mentioned portions being respectively decorated to represent open and closed eyes complementary to the decoration of the mounting member adjacent said sockets, whereby to create an illusion of the opening and closing of the eyes of the figure as said tab is manipulated between its aforesaid positions. 1

4. The, combination with a member having an opening, of a tab extending through the opening and having a portion exposed outwardly of saidmember, said tab being pivoted in said member foroscillatory movement insaid member, contiguous portions of said member and the oppos ing faces of the outwardly exposed portion of the tab being decorated to represent different positions of relatively movable parts of the same object. g

5. In combination with a paper doll provided with eye openings, tab means comprising por.- tions pivoted in the respective eye openings, the. upper surfaces of said tab portions being decorated as eyelids and the lower surfaces of'said 6. The device of claim 5 in which the tabrmeans" closed and open eye members of said doll.

'8. In a device of the character described, the combination with a sheet member having an opening, of a tabmember extending through the 1 0 eratin g-portion,v said tab member being laterally notched and engaged with the sheet member openingand liavirigbehind the sheet member an for positioning it pivotally in the opening of the sheet member, the respective upper and lower faces of the portion of the tab member extending through theopeningjbeing decorated to represent different positions of the same part and the sheet memberbei'ng'decorated to represent an object wherein said part is movable.

9. In combination with a paper doll having a facial openingatab member having a first portion behind said :doll' landan extension portion projecting through said opening and exposed at the front "of said doll; said extension portion and the first portion of'said tab member having a restricted connection providing opposin notches interlocked with the doll at said opening whereby to provide a pivotal connection between the tab member and the doll, the extension portion of the tab member having opposing "faces differently decorated to represent different positions of a facial part movable at said opening and complementary to contiguous .gportions of the doll face adjacent said opening.

10. In a device 'of the character described, the combination with an-apertured member, of 'a tab comprising a blank having corresponding projectionsfrom its opposite margins and differently decorated at said projections to represent different? positions of the sam part, said blank being centrally folded and glued with said extensions superimposed an the superimposed extensions being disposed at one side of the apertured member with the remaining tabportions at the other side thereof, said member and tab having at said 5 in'g a'blank with a pair of eye extensions correspondingly "locatedl'top'roject from each of two opposing margins and differently decorated to represent different 'eyepositions, said blank being centrally folded and adhesively secured with the extensions of the respective pairs registered, each set of registered extensions providin notches at their points of connection with the tab and said notches being interlocked with the doll member in the apertures thereof whereby the decorated faces of said extensions project at the front of the doll member to be alternatively exposed according to the pivotal position of the tab, the tab belng disposed behind the doll member for the manipulation of said extensions.

12. Ina device of the character described, a sub-combination which comprises a tab constituting'a blankrcentnally folded upon itself and having projections from its opposite margins registered inxfacei.contact when folded, said blank providing a continuous face surface across the fold line differently decorated at the respective extensions, whereby the folded blank has upper and lower extension faces differently decorated.

13. The device defined in claim 12 wherein said extensions and contiguous marginal portions of the blank form opposing notches for the pivotal mounting of the blank.

14. A method of providing the illusion of opening and closing eyes for a paper doll, such method comprising picturing an open eye and a closed eye on opposite faces of the same tab member and pivotally moving the tab member with respect to the face of the doll to swing forwardly of such face about a transverse axis of pivotal movement.

15. A method of creating the illusion of movement of a part of a figure, such method comprising the picturing of said figure part in one position on one face of a tab and in another position on the opposite face of the tab, mounting the tab pivotally for bodily swinging movement with respect to the figure of which said part is pictured, on the tab, and swinging the tab respecting the figure.

16. The method making a tab for creating an illusion of movement of a part of a figure, such method comprising the concurrent impression at different points on the same tab blank of pictures of such part in different positions, and folding and fastening the blank upon itself with said parts in registry, whereby the representations of said part are on opposite sides of the folded blank.

17. The method set forth in claim 16 followed by the further mounting of the folded blank in an apertured figure for pivotal movement in the aperture between such positions as altematively to display the part in its different positions.

QUEEN HOLDEN. 

